The Mets’ season-opening road trip was the definition of up-and-down. They took three of four from the Miami Marlins before getting swept out of Milwaukee by the Brewers. Instead of getting ready for their home opener on Thursday, the weather is pushing it to Friday. Could top prospect Francisco Alvarez be joining for all the festivities?
It’s possible, according to Metsmerized’s Mike Mayer. Check it out:
Sources: Top prospect Francisco Álvarez headed to join the Mets in case they need to activate him for Friday.
Mets catcher Omar Narváez left the game early on Wednesday with a calf injury.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) April 5, 2023
Well, well, well.
When Alvarez officially got optioned to Triple-A during spring training, manager Buck Showalter made it sound like it’d be a while until we saw the 21-year-old back in the big leagues:
I hope so, in some ways. That means that we’re doing real well and our catchers are healthy and doing well. I hope that’s the case. He’s got a chance to be called up in September.
Anything else I said would be promoting the failure or the health of one of the guys that we have. And we like our two guys. They’re in the top seven or eight of catching in baseball. We’re lucky to have both of them. I hope at some point Francisco is as good as they are.
But, of course, things can change quickly. Especially when injuries start piling up.
The Mets just sidestepped having to deal with a serious injury to third base prospect Brett Baty. Will they be able to do the same with Omar Narvaez? The unexpected off day will give New York more time to make a decision.
Alvarez has a 1.056 OPS with four RBI and four runs scored through his first 16 at-bats in Syracuse. Of the four hits he’s recorded, three have gone for extra bases (one double, two homers). We hope nothing is serious with Narvaez, obviously. However, if Alvarez gets activated for Friday’s home opener, the reception from the crowd should be epic.
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You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
